Fashion
Between a niqab and a bikini: Riyadh aims to become world’s fashion capital
Since then, the event has been held twice a year, drawing prominent figures from the Arab world and local celebrities including Georgina Rodríguez, Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner (Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia).
Rodriguez attended shows by designers Fatima Alabdulqader and Khawla Alaiban. “The event highlights our top creative talents and allows our brands to show the world what Saudi fashion has to offer,” Saudi Fashion Commission Director Burak Cakmak said.
Riyadh Fashion Week marked a turning point in Saudi Arabia’s approach to fashion and its openness to the Western world — a trend that’s grown over the past year. In May, for example, Saudi Arabia held its first-ever swimwear fashion show — a bold step for the conservative Muslim nation.
Recently, as part of the Riyadh Season festival, Lebanese designer Elie Saab’s fashion show featured singers like Jennifer Lopez and Céline Dion. Simultaneously, the Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition launched at Saudi Arabia’s National Museum (closing April 2), showcasing 75 years of Dior’s creations.
The exhibits emphasize local influences, such as the Al-Ula region, reflected in designs inspired by desert light and golden sands, blending Western haute couture with local traditions and nature.
One of Saudi Arabia’s strategies to bolster its fashion industry was establishing the Saudi Fashion Commission in 2020, headed by Burak Cakmak, a former dean of fashion at Parsons School of Design in New York.
“We have been building a fashion industry here in Saudi completely from scratch,” Cakmak explained in a 2023 interview with Forbes. “The biggest challenge has been obtaining market data information. It’s important that the commission, as well as designers and businesses across the value chain, can make informed data-led decisions,” he said.
“The Saudi fashion scene is truly like no other, you just need to attend a Saudi event such as the Saudi Cup to witness its originality and love of luxury and extravagance, blended with Saudi heritage and the contemporary,” he added.
Cakmak is optimistic about the sector’s growth in the Muslim country, envisioning a future that preserves Middle Eastern traditions while developing a new design language. One of his initiatives is the Saudi 100 Brands program, a professional development effort helping emerging fashion talents — 85% of whom are women — reach their potential through specialized courses and brand development support.
“What distinguishes Saudi designers from others is our vision, which is born from our past and our heritage,” said Nour Al Dhahri, a designer from the Saudi 100 Brands program specializing in embroidered evening gowns and a regular at Riyadh Fashion Week.
Saudi Arabia’s current focus on expanding its presence in fashion, including shows, exhibitions and Western appeal, follows two and a half decades of stability in its luxury market, fueled by its oil wealth. In the early 2000s, luxury brands began entering the Saudi market — a trend that intensified in the 2010s with the expansion of major fashion groups like Chalhoub, representing brands like Fendi, Versace and Tom Ford.
This period also saw the launch of fashion magazines targeting the local audience, such as Vogue Arabia and Marie Claire Arabia, based in the UAE. These developments strengthened the local economy.
Whereas 70% of Gulf and Saudi customers’ luxury purchases previously occurred abroad in fashion hubs like Milan and Paris, there’s now a growing trend of buying luxury brands in local malls. As of 2023, Saudi Arabia’s fashion industry is valued at approximately $30 billion, projected to reach $42 billion by 2028, with a significant 48% growth in retail fashion sales expected by 2025.
The industry contributes 2.5% to the country’s GDP and has created 320,000 jobs. Women comprise 52% of the workforce, underscoring Saudi Arabia’s emphasis on diversity and gender equality.
The market also invests in expanding local brands and designers, such as Hindamme by Mohammed Khoja, which combines Saudi heritage with modern design; haute couture designer Yousef Akbar; and Arwa Al Banawi, known for blending classic and contemporary styles.
“But it’s part of Saudi Vision 2030 that the kingdom aims to promote. In the last five years, we’ve seen women driving alone, holding photo IDs and participating in short film competitions — developments that all point to one message: Saudi Arabia wants the world at its doorstep,” he added.
Vision 2030, launched by bin Salman in 2016, is a comprehensive strategic plan to diversify the kingdom’s economy and reduce reliance on oil revenue. The plan includes extensive economic, social and cultural reforms, particularly in tourism.
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Saudi fashion influencer Reem Alswaidi
(Photo: Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images for HIA HUB)
“Bin Salman questioned what Saudi Arabia would look like in 2030 and began ‘Saudizing’ the workforce with a focus on women’s empowerment — by Saudi standards,” Rabi noted.
“They’re not discarding the hijab, but they’re advancing things women could only dream of 15–20 years ago. It’s a delicate dance between progress and tradition, all seemingly sanctioned by religious approval. Sometimes, however, that approval comes after the fact.”
How does modernization coexist with Islamic sharia law?
“When contemporary Saudi society seeks progress, it consults its past to shape an acceptable future,” Rabi explained. “This involves adopting new elements that might initially be seen as heretical by radicals but eventually gain religious endorsement. Essentially, they’re bending religious law to facilitate modernization.”
Are they subordinating Islamic law to modernization efforts?
“Absolutely,” Rabi said. “Bin Salman not only uses Islam as a tool for modernization but also leverages it to drive progress. This is part of his controversial persona. Despite his ruthlessness and authoritarian rule, he’s immensely popular among Saudi youth. He’s opening Saudi Arabia to the world, fostering interactions, and gaining recognition.
Fashion in Saudi Arabia isn’t just about clothing or women wearing Dolce & Gabbana beneath their black niqabs — it reflects broader social and political shifts. According to Rabi, bin Salman’s initiatives aren’t just PR moves aimed at Western liberal audiences; they directly impact citizens’ lives, evident in social media, Saudi theater, freedom of expression, inheritance laws and education reforms — though superficially.
By 2034, Saudi Arabia is also set to host the FIFA World Cup, positioning itself as a nation blending innovation with tradition and tourism with business.
Modernization’s challenges arise both domestically and internationally. A prime example is the May swimwear show during the Red Sea Fashion Week at the luxury St. Regis Hotel on the Saudi island of Ummahat. Contrary to expectations, models wore one-piece swimsuits and bikinis, marking a historic moment.
Fashion designer Yasmina Qanzal, who showcased swimwear at the event, told AFP, “It’s true that this country is very conservative but we tried to show elegant swimsuits which represent the Arab world,”
Despite this progress, Saudi women still don’t dress this way, even at the beach. The show sparked a divide: some celebrated it as a recognition of women’s rights and a move toward the kingdom’s aspirations, while others saw it as provocative and offensive to Islamic law, particularly in a devout country that hosts millions of pilgrims annually.
Saudi human rights activist Lina al-Hathloul argued that the May swimwear show was aimed at improving the kingdom’s international image but didn’t necessarily reflect genuine change in civil rights, personal freedoms or attitudes toward women.
“3 weeks after Saudi authorities sentenced Manahel to 11 years in prison for her choice of clothing, some of the #WWE’s top female talent were pictured posing in revealing swimsuits on the kingdom’s Red Sea coast. MBS’s Saudi Arabia in a nutshell,” she wrote on her X account.
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